Siemens: Digital Motor Production in the Heart of the Beskids

ROZHOVOR Siemens: Digital Motor Production in the Heart of the Beskids Ing. Roman Valný, CEO of the Siemens production plant in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, was born in Čeladná in 1975. Valný started his career at Siemens in 1995 when he joined the company as a workman in a production hall of the electric motor plant in Frenštát. Then he worked in customer service, and until 2006 he prepared global service concepts for big clients, unifying the service processes of all Siemens production plants. Two years later, he became the leader of service organization for Siemens plants in the Czech Republic, Germany, China, and Mexico. In the meantime, he studied at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava (VŠB-TU). In 2013 he came back to the plant in Frenštát, being responsible for the technological development of the company. In 2015 he managed production at the Siemens plant in Mohelnice. Since 2016, he has been the CEO at Siemens Frenštát, a plant employing over 1,400 people. He is married, has two adult daughters; his favourite leisure activities are travelling, hiking, cycling, and drone photography. Mr Valný, what is the story of Siemens in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, an innovative company with almost 1,500 employees at the heart of the Beskid Mountains? The history of our plant dates back to 1946 when the electrical engineering production separated from what was then Baťa concern in Zlín, and moved to another plant. Even though Frenštát was not on the list of prospective locations to relocate the plant, it happened that what was originally a textile manufacturer became a plant producing electric motors for the National Company of Moravian Electrical-Engineering Plants (Moravské elektrotechnické závody, MEZ). Legend has it that two bosses of the shoemaking concern went to see the plants in Strážnice and in Budišov nad Budišovkou. On their way from Budišov, they spent a night at hotel Vlčina in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. The large glazed front of the restaurant offered them a fascinating view of the Beskid range, where they noticed the building of a former weaving mill which was having difficulties restarting their operation after the war. Moving and starting the production in Frenštát considerably influenced the lives of the local people and significantly changed the town and its environment. The first electric motor was produced shortly after and the company has so far produced millions of motors which have worked with customers worldwide. Besides electric motors, the company has also produced other products, including 12 ǀ POSITIV 2/2019